100 Themes, 100 Stories
by foxworth
Summary: Everyone has a voice, a story, a perspective worth hearing. The Kingdom Hearts characters are perfect examples. This is my response to WaterAngel-Alyssa's 100 theme challenge. Rating tentative, all canon, possible slash incorporated, but tastefully.
1. Chapter 1: Beginning

Chapter 1: Beginning

Roxas' PoV

I…still don't believe it. I actually have a…friend.

I still don't remember how I met him, to be honest. I don't remember anything from before the Organization, and even then my first few days are a bit foggy at best. It was so strange…all I can really remember from those days is trying to figure out who or what was around me, and why these things were…what they were. Everyone around me kept telling me that I was a Nobody, that I didn't have a heart, but it just seemed like even that was the hardest thing to get a grasp on. I mean, it almost felt like they were saying that meant we didn't matter, and it hurt to think that. My first few days, and all they could say was, "Sorry, but we're just a bunch of insignificant nothings, too bad." How was I supposed to react to that?

With all of that in mind, I spent my first few weeks just mindlessly following orders: Go here, do this, hearts, hearts, hearts. It was all I could really think to do; if my life didn't mean anything and never would, why make an effort to do something special, right? At least, that's how I felt, until we started working together.

Number VIII. Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames. He and I went out on a lot of missions together; he spent half of them complaining to me about how they forced the "babysitter" position on him, but at least he talked to me. Most of the others lost interest in me after one or two days, so it was nice to here someone actually talk to me, not at me, without orders.

It wasn't just that he talked to me though. He had this…charm to him, something none of the other members had. Sure, Demyx could crack a joke, but it always seemed like he was talking down to everyone, and besides you could tell there was something darker underneath all the joking. Axel was…genuine in his banter, and even though it was always one sided (I couldn't keep up with his train of thought), it never fazed him. My missions with him were probably some of the best times I've had around here, bar none.

Of course, the missions came second only to what came afterwards: ice cream. One thing I do remember, the first time we went was when Axel asked me what I was doing after our mission. I know it's little embarrassing, but I honestly had no idea how to answer him. Up till then, every day had been the same; I got up, went on a mission, then went right back to sleep. The concept of free time and other activities had never really occurred to me.

"Well, we'll just have to do something about that," he smirked. "Meet me at the top of the clock tower, I've gotta go get something."

So, I went up the clock tower and waited for him. I had never been up there before, so I had no idea what to expect. Part of me actually thought Axel had found a big Heartless up here and he wanted to take it out with me, I was so unused to not working. I searched that top floor for ten minutes while waiting for him before I just gave up and sat on the edge, resigned to waiting in silence. It was another ten minutes before he finally came strolling up, holding two ice cream sticks in his hands.

"Hey, sorry it took me so long. I was a little short on cash, had to work the extra off in town." He sat down, swung his legs over the edge, and offered me one of the ice creams. "Here, try it." I took the stick from his hand and stared at it; keep in mind, I'd never seen one of these before in my life.

"Roxas, you zombie! You're supposed to lick it. Maybe bite into it after in melts a bit." He gave me a playful punch to the shoulder, and I laughed a bit before taking a taste. "So, what do you think?"

I liked it, but I felt like I needed to say more than that. After all, he'd gone to all the trouble of getting it for me. "It's…good. It's like it's salty, but…kinda sweet too."

He shrugged and turned to look at the sunset, beaming. "Yeah, well, that's probably why they call it sea-salt ice cream, dummy."

"Still, I like it." I looked out at the sunset too, and for a moment I just stared at it in wonder. It was amazing; I'd been to Twilight Town for missions so many times before, but I'd never stopped and taken the time to look at the sunset. It was beautiful, a bright ball of light in an orange and red sky. I know we're Nobodies and we don't have hearts to be moved with and all that, but I don't know…I got this weird feeling, right in my chest. I don't know what to call it, or if it means anything, but I do know one thing: in that moment, there wasn't anywhere else I wanted to be. "Hey, Axel?"

"Yeah, what's up kiddo?"

"Do you think…we can do this again? Come up here, eat ice cream, look at the sunset?"

He gave me this strange look, like he was trying to read my thoughts, then just gave up and smiled. "I don't see why not. Tell you what: tomorrow, once you finish your mission, come up here and we can eat some more ice cream. I'll show up when I can. Ok?"

"Ok, sure!"

We met up the next day, just like he said. And the next day. And the next. We've been meeting for ice cream every day since then, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I don't know what's going to come next, but even if I lost my memory again, I know I would never forget that first day at the clock tower. That day will stay with me forever, the start of my friendship with Axel, all the good days we've had, and all the other good days to come. I would never trade that for anything, ever.


	2. Chapter 2: Dream

Chapter 2: Dream

Axel's PoV

I had dreams too, you know. Before I became a Nobody, I had dreams, big dreams; the kind gave me hope for the future. Funny, it's been so long since I've been able to hope, let alone dream.

Isa and I, we always knew exactly what we were after back then: get inside the castle. We never really had a clear picture of what we were going to do once we got in, but we figured it was better than doing nothing. Besides, it was an old castle; it was sure to be loaded with some secret passages or old books or treasure, anything that could earn us a place on the map. That's all that really mattered back then: giving people a reason to keep our names memorized.

As hard as we tried though, we only ever actually made it inside once. Those stuffy guards, Dilan and Aeleus—you probably know them better as Xaldin and Lexaeus, their stuffier Nobodies—had turned a blind eye to the entrance long enough for us to sneak past and get inside. Like I said though, we hadn't really planned much past that point, and after a few minutes of running through the halls we settled down to just wandering aimlessly.

"Soooo, what do we do now?"

Isa just smirked to himself and looked forward, his face as stoic as ever. "Now we find the stairs to the upper floors."

"Upper floors? What's wrong with whatever's down here?"

He stopped at a fork in the hall, looking down both paths. He didn't look at me the whole time. "What's wrong is that the adults have their labs down here, which means they know the floor plan by heart. If we want to find anything of real value, anything that they don't already have their claws in, then we'll need to go up, to the historic halls. No one goes up there, so we won't be disturbed."

Heh, good ol' Isa. Back then, he was my best friend; the thinker where I was the doer, the calm where I was the fury. Even when he didn't have a plan, he always had a plan. "Alrighty then…so what do we do now?"

He just looked back at me and smiled. "We make a left, if those stairs down there are any indication." And of course, he was right, as always; the stairs out of that dark basement were just visible at the end of the hall on the left. No one had been up there in a while; the lights were out in places along the ceiling and the pipes had holes in places, but it looked safe enough, so I ran ahead up to the stairs, beaming at the thought of what we could find.

"Wha—Lea! Quit it, wait for me!" Isa broke out into a sprint trying to keep up with me as I swung around the stairs' handrail and ran full speed up the winding stairway. We were laughing like a bunch of idiots the whole way up, but neither one of us cared. It's why we hung out in the first place: I was the only one who could get Isa to loosen up and just have fun, and frankly Isa was the only one who tolerated some of my wilder antics.

And then…we reached the top. I was the first one too reach the top of course, but once I saw what was at the end of the stairs…I didn't really care so much anymore. Isa seemed a little confused as to why I had stopped running, and as far as he knew I was just trying to pull some prank over him.

"Lea? You still there? What are you up too, you lazy—" And then he caught up with me. "Wow."

We were both standing, utterly dumbfounded, in the middle of a dark room filled with giant pods built into the wall. The room looked…different from the basement, entirely different from the cold, metal feel of the labs below. It was…dark, with a black carpet floor and two rows of blue flaming pedestals, like some weird chapel of the dead or dammed or…I don't even know what. I looked to Isa for some answers and saw this deadly serious look on his face; whatever we had stumbled upon, it needed his full attention. Play time was over, time to get down to business.

"Isa? Isa, what's going on? What the hell is all—?"

"Shhh, dum-dum. I'm thinking…" He stepped over to one of the pods, placing a hand against it. It wasn't really a pod so much as a roundish square box, an indent in the wall encased in glass. "This thing's made of glass, so it's not meant to keep something inside safe…maybe to keep them in…?"

When Isa got into his dark thinking moods, there was nothing much I could ever do about it, so I just decided to look around a bit. The chamber wasn't really that big—the dim lights from the flames only made it seem that way—but it looked like there was still more to the place. There was a small set of stairs on the far end of the room, so while Isa was deep in his mental brain-warp session I made my way over to poke around. The stairs branched off at a point, going up either side of this…well, there really isn't much else to call it…altar. I took the stairs on the right, and at the top was a platform. On one side were these complicated computers, their glow lighting up the room with an eerie blue light. On the other… there was a giant archway constructed entirely of pipes, in the shape of a heart.

"Isa! Isa, c'mon, I think I found something!"

Isa came up the steps, half-jumping up the steps and muttering to himself. Whatever he had found around those pods really seemed to have an effect on him. "I'm here, I'm here." He looked up at the archway, looked over at the computers, and immediately walked over to the keyboards and began typing away furiously.

"Isa? Isa, are you ok? What are you doing?"

"These computers are connected to everything in here. If I could just find the program to start it all up, I could see what it was designed to do…"

His hands were moving across several keyboards faster than I could keep track of, and his eyes kept darting around from screen to screen the way I darted around him when I was trying to bug him. I had never seen him like this before; it was like he had given in to that seriousness in his head and absolutely checked out on me. "Isa…you're starting to scare me. I-I think we should head back…"

Suddenly he spun around to face me, a crazed look in his eyes as his hands contorted in rage. "Fine, go ahead, leave! I'm staying! Don't you see what we've found here? This could give us more than just fame, this place has power, real power! What we find here could give us the power to do anything, and you're willing to throw it all away because you're a little scared?" He turned back to the computers, completely ignoring my presence. "Well not me. I'm not going to let some petty little emotion stand in the way of me getting what I want. Ever."

I…I was caught totally off guard by that. I mean, we'd fought before, who doesn't? This time though…he'd never completely dismissed me like that before. "F-Fine. You go ahead, I-I'm going back. Good riddance." I started to run off so he wouldn't see my tears—when I smacked right into Dilan.

"You two are in more trouble than you can possibly imagine."

* * *

Five minutes later, I'm flailing around like a fish out of water trying to get out of Dilan's grip. He had taken us to Ansem, who had insisted that we "be taken out of the castle immediately and without any undue damage to our persons", thank you very much. Old coot…Dilan resigned himself to simply dumping us out of the castle with all the grace and poise of a garbage collector. Something about our little adventure had changed Isa though; for all my struggling, he just…hung there limply in Dilan's hand. When Dilan finally dropped us outside the castle walls, I sprang up right away while Isa just calmly brought himself up to his knees before finally standing up.

"What is wrong with you, man? We could've gotten away from him if we both fought, you know that. He couldn't have handled both of us at once!"

Isa just gave me this cold, emotionless glare, like suddenly I was…beneath him. "Why should I have fought? He would have come after us until he caught us again."

"That's not the point! You just gave up on me, for no reason. Why don't you just get a grip already!"

"You're the one who needs to get a hold of yourself. After all, you're the reason he found us. If you hadn't fought with me, he wouldn't have heard us arguing. You gave in to fear, you let your little emotions come before the goal, and you are weak because of it." He turned his back to me and started walking towards his house. But before he left, he stopped, his back still facing me, and said, "I'm going to go back in and find out what their hiding in there tomorrow. Don't come with me." And with that, he was gone.

I ran home and cried that night; I just ran straight up to my room, locked the door, and cried into a pillow so my parents wouldn't hear. How could he do this to me? Isa, or at least the Isa I knew, had disappeared right before my eyes, and I didn't even see it coming. I-I thought, for all his seriousness, he at least gave a damn about me. My mistake, I guess. The last thing I remember was finally managing to catch me breath and choke back a few sobs before finally drifting off to sleep.

* * *

That was the last time I ever cried. The last day I ever cried, or really laughed, or did anything related to emotions or feelings or anything. The day after that was the day the skies went black, and the shadows showed up and took everything from us. The day after that, I lost my heart that day, along with Isa and the apprentices and everyone else I ever knew. The day after that, Radiant Garden twisted and deformed into Hollow Bastion, and the first world fell to the darkness.

I don't really remember much of that day; all I know is that one moment I was running from the shadows, and the next I was in the Dark Meridian, trying to fill the void I would come to terms with in the years to come. It took a long time, but eventually the Organization found me, and took me in, gave me a purpose. Isa, or Saix I guess by now, had joined them just before I did. It suited him, being second in command of a confederation of emotionless Nobodies. It's actually funny, I figured maybe I could fix things between us, make things right again, but in the end it was just too late. He was a Nobody now; he had truly reached the emotionless and power he had been seeking, and he wasn't going to give it back for anything.

So now, after everything that's happened, I'm here, alone. At least, I think I'm here. What is "here"? Does here even exist? I know I died or faded or whatever, but I'm still here. I have a mind, if nothing else. So what good does that do me? All that leaves me with some memories of a friend who left me behind in a pursuit for something that, in the end, I never really wanted. How does that do me any good? How is that…fair, for all my pain to be rewarded with this?

But…still, I guess I do have others: other memories, other people I've met since then. I met Roxas, and Namine, and Sora and Kairi. All these people in my life, if you could call it that, who touched me in ways I never thought I could be touched again. Maybe…maybe, if I can feel something for these people, even without a heart…then maybe I can dream again too. A dream where all of us are be together, where all the fighting is done and we can just be together, and be whole and happy the way it should have been. Yeah…yeah, maybe I could dream that. Why not? It's a nice dream, and who knows, it could come true.


	3. Chapter 3: Wave

Chapter 3: Wave

Kairi's PoV

I've stood here before. Here, on the shore of our island, watching the waves rise and crash…I've stood here a lot of times before. Sometimes I feel like I've spent my whole life here, just watching the waves and waiting for them to come back to me. Really, what else have I accomplished? What real story do I have to my name?

I came to these islands ten years ago, back when we were all just innocent kids with our innocent games. I was a blank slate: no home, no memory, no past at all, just a world of possibility ahead of me. Those were the good years, the childhood years, where we played on the beach and ran and built rafts. We were always together, and even when we weren't, we still were. Nothing could have been better; it was perfect.

But eventually, my hidden past had to come back, and everything changed when it did. The shadows, the ones that took my first home, came to claim my new one; the skies turned black, and in an instant they were everywhere. I couldn't remember them then, or anything thing else…so I didn't know how to fight them, and when all was said and done I ran out of places to run. They took my heart, and everything that made me me began to fade.

I didn't fade completely though; I was stronger than that, somehow. But despite that I was still falling, drowning in darkness, so I reached out for a life raft…and found him. Sora. He saved me, and as my heart clung to his for safety, suddenly I could see it all. Everything he had done and was doing in his life was suddenly open to me as I learned to see through his eyes.

For the longest time, I hid in his heart, watching him search for me and Riku with everything he had. We went everywhere, saw everything, and through it all he never lost hope, never lost sight of his light. My light. It was amazing, but also heartbreaking; as much as I wanted too, I couldn't reach far enough, couldn't tell him I was there, or comfort him or hold him close. I was a ghost in my own life, powerless to do anything.

It became so painful at times, to be so close and yet so far, that to keep my sanity I would sometimes ran away into a fantasy land, a world deep in Sora's heart made entirely of his memories. There, it was as if nothing had changed; I was with Sora and Riku, we were still little and innocent, and we would spend ages just playing out on the beach for at least an eternity. It was all a lie, I knew that: they were just memories of times we had played before. Nevertheless, I loved it, and my favorite memory, the one I visited more than any other, was of the night before the shadows came.

I was with Sora all that day, and before we went home we stopped to watch the sunset. For the longest time, we just sat on the pier side by side, talking about everything and anything. We were going to set off in a raft for another world the next day, and we were just so excited that we didn't leave until the sun had almost set. The last thing I remember from that day was standing up, looking at the sun, and asking Sora to do one thing for me: never change. It was the most wonderful day of my life, and I was lucky enough to live it again and again, as much as I wanted. And that, I will always treasure.

Eventually though, the time would come, every now and then, when the memories grew stale and I longed for real human contact. So, I would rise back up to the surface and watch Sora venture on, getting closer and closer to me with every day. It was all I could to push him in just the right direction—until we reached Hollow Bastion.

Hollow Bastion. My first home, twisted and warped by the darkness. It was fitting, I suppose, that my trial ended right where it began. I was given my life back, at a cost; Sora sacrificed himself for me. For a time, I thought I lost him forever, but it seems I wasn't the only strong one; he fought his way back from darkness itself, just to come back to me. I thought this meant we'd be together again, this time closer than ever. I thought this meant we'd be happy again.

But before I could even enjoy the time I had with him, he was gone again and I was back on the island, this time in the real world—alone. Where I had once been the focus of Sora's entire life, I had been reduced to a lonely damsel in distress; the victim of everyone's attempts to get to him. I was mind wiped, manipulated, and kidnapped like some helpless infant before it was over, all while Sora and Riku were out playing hero without me. Fortunately, we all managed to make it back home, but in the end I was more of a nuisance than any actual help. Again, I was powerless, forced to watch the fighting and the carnage until the boys finally came through to save us.

That's why I'm here now, watching the waves crash on the shore, trying to figure out what to do with my life. The King sent Sora and Riku a letter asking for help; no doubt they'll be leaving soon, and they'll want me to stay behind. How can they expect me to continue like this, just sitting around and waiting for them to get their act together so we can be together again?

Then again, they don't know what I've gained. That last adventure did have one perk; I gained a new gift, something I never expected. Staring at the waves, I close my eyes, empty my mind, and reach out my hand…to have a Keyblade suddenly appear in my grasp in a bright flash of light.

Destiny's Embrace…I like it. It works for me: pretty, delicate looking, but underneath it all, more powerful than anyone would have imagined. With this at my side, nothing can stand in my way; a whole new world of freedom is open to me, a world where I can make a difference in what happens to me and my friends. Maybe I'll be no good at using the Keyblade, maybe I'll fall before I can do anything really important, but I have to know. I have to prove to myself that I can stand up for myself and defend Sora the way he's defended me. And if I can't do even that…well, I suppose that's another thing that works well for me; with Destiny's Embrace at my side, I feel content embracing my destiny, whatever it may be.

And just like that, my path seems crystal clear. Keyblade in hand, I turn away from the ocean and start walking back home to prepare for the journey ahead. The waves continue to rise and fall behind me, and they still will once tomorrow comes, but I won't be here to see it. Instead, I'll be at Sora's side, facing tomorrow on my terms—no one else's, just mine—and we'll be together again. If all else fails though, I do know this; when all is said and done, I will have accomplished something important, I will have my own story. You can count on it.


	4. Chapter 4: Pure

Ok, I know I haven't updated in a while, but I got stuck on one word from the list, so now I'm going to be skipping around the different themes. Hope you all enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 4: Pure

Ventus' PoV

What…What happened? The last thing I remember…is fighting Vanitas. Didn't I win? He's gone now, he didn't win…So why am I so sleepy? It's so hard…just to think clearly now…

They said that he was a part of me…that Vanitas was the darkness in me that Master Xehanort pulled out all that time ago. It would definitely explain some things: the Keyblade, that empty feeling I would always get when I was alone, the hard time I always had understanding others. It's weird…for so long, Terra and Aqua would tease me for being so innocent and pure, and I never understood what they meant. Now that Vanitas is gone though, I can feel it all coming back; all these emotions that I couldn't feel for so long, I thought they were just something I'd dreamed up. It's…overwhelming.

For one thing, there's this…burning sensation, deep inside me. It-It hurts so much, and no matter what I think I can't make it stop. It flares up when I think about what's happened…am I angry?

I…I am. I-I'm just…pissed beyond belief. I mean, how could they let this happen? Terra and Aqua, they were supposed to look out for me, and now I'm trapped here, unable to do anything until one of them gets their act together and does something. And Master Xehanort…he was my mentor, for god's sake, I trusted him, and he used me as a damn guinea pig! Is that all he ever saw me as, just a means to some sick power play of his?

It's insane! All I ever did was try to be a good friend and a good Keyblade wielder, and what thanks do I get? I get stuck in a frickin' coma and abandoned in some dreary old castle!

…Whew. That…that felt…good. I've…never done anything like that before, just vented like that. How long had I been sitting on that? Is this because of Vanitas? Did defeating him…put darkness in my heart? But…darkness is bad, and must be destroyed; Master Eraqus told me so. So why does this bad feeling feel so good once I have it? Shouldn't bad feelings feel…bad?

Maybe...maybe he wasn't all right. I mean, people must have some reason to let in the darkness; maybe it's there for a reason. Maybe it's there…so we know to make something change in our lives. I've always been the pure one out of my friends; that just got me here. If I could have seen this coming, if I had been willing to place fault on someone and see that they aren't always as good as I may think…perhaps things could have been better. I don't know, but it would've been worth a shot.

* * *

I know, it's short, but I felt it got the point across. Let me know what you think in a review!


	5. Chapter 5: Alone

Chapter 5: Alone

Xion's PoV

I miss my life: simple as that. I miss running, I miss talking. I miss sitting with my friends, watching the sunset. I know people say, "It's better to have loved and lost than never loved at all", but I really don't see how that is; I've loved. I've lost. And look where I am now.

Even when I was alive, or at least as alive as I was, I never really had a chance at a life on my terms. My name's probably the best example: Xion, No. _i_. Even among people who weren't supposed to exist, I was an imaginary number; one who, by their standards, was only worth a name they believed to be a testament to my lack of meaning in their lives. To the Organization, I wasn't an equal, but a tool and a puppet, and they treated me as such.

I was forced to work for them mindlessly, and as long as I served their needs they couldn't have cared less what happened to me. I was denied an opinion, a voice, even a face of my own. And why shouldn't have I been? I didn't need those things to collect those hearts, and leaving me a hollow shell was more convenient for them anyway.

But then…I met Roxas. Right away, I could tell he was different; he spoke to me with this…kindness in his voice, so distinct in my mind that I can still hear it now. All I had ever heard was the harsh orders of Saix and Xemnas, so the concept of just…being with someone who didn't treat me as an inferior or subordinate was absolutely mindboggling. His soft words struck a chord somewhere inside of me, and somehow…my hood came away. I gained a face of my own, and despite all my reservations, I let my guard down to him and received…acceptance. Where my superiors forced me to hide under my more preferable puppet persona, Roxas came to see my true self as a friend, and every day we would meet after our missions to eat ice cream and watch the sunset. It was wonderful.

It only got better when Axel joined us. Where Roxas was my loveable friend, standing by me in good times and bad, Axel was like an older brother to me; he protected me as best he could from what was to come, and he was always the one to tell me the straight truth, even when it hurt more than anything. It was…comforting, knowing that he was always honest with me; he wanted to shield Roxas from such harsh realities, and while their feelings for each other were obvious to all but themselves I had always hope that they would be close. It's all I've ever wanted anyway, since I've known to want: just the three of us, together, forever. It didn't matter to me how we were together—as I said, they were my friends, my brothers—but those two…it would have been nice, to see them finally let each other inside.

It wasn't to be, though; eventually my original purpose overruled who I had become, and all the memories I had been taking from Roxas and our link, Sora, began to dominate me. The compassion and love I felt was warped and eventually replaced with a need for power, and in the end I turned on my best friends as my body betrayed what I believe to be my soul. I submitted to my destiny, became a mere vessel for the Organization's ends, and attempted to take Roxas down with me.

I wish, I wish I could have fought harder, but when all was said and done only Roxas' fight for survival could save me; he had the strength to cut through my power, and as I faded away I felt…relieved. I was going to merge Roxas now, forever and ever, and even if he didn't remember me I knew that I always would. I would remember my life with Roxas, with Axel, and with our talks on the tower. And I would never, ever leave them behind.

But then, everything went terribly wrong. I watched in horror as Roxas, filled with fury over my death, fought for the chance to avenge me—and lost. I was trapped, unable to do a thing as those who had no business interfering with our lives…did just that. Roxas was abused in a way no one, Nobody or otherwise, should have to endure; his mind and his memory were twisted almost to the breaking point, and he was backed into a corner in order to fulfill someone else's agenda. How could he have resisted merging with Sora, after all the pain they had inflicted on him for no reason other than his mere existence? I wanted to beg him not to do it, but ultimately he chose to merge with him, and I was sent deeper inside them both.

* * *

Since the merge with Sora, I've been trapped in my own little world of blackness and void. I had been powerless before, but now I'm caught so deep within Sora's heart that I can't even see the world outside. It's just been me here: a forgotten aberration among aberrations, which for all intents and purposes never existed in the first place.

Being down here has given me a lot of time to think, however, and much of what I thought was true, I've reconsidered over time. People have always said that I was a Nobody, devoid of a heart and therefore emotion, and on that…I've had my doubts. I'd like to think that I can feel, and since I'm basically just a few "leaked" memories jumbled together, I would think that it would be in my nature to feel…just about anything. After all, people remember things because of what they feel about them, right? Emotions and memories, memories and hearts…they must be intertwined, and if they are…then I must be more than just the shell they called me.

Still, whether I feel or not, it all comes down to what I think down here, and I think that right now, I feel only one thing: alone. I've lost my friends, and no amount of memories can make up for that fact. Won't someone come find me, please? I deserve a chance to live, and if I could just get that chance, I know I would live well. Despite everything, I do believe that good times come. Even when things are this bad, the good times will come, and when they come, I'll be ready. Trust me, I'll be ready, with an ice cream in one hand and this loneliness, like sand, slipping out the other. The loneliness will leave, and in its place, only happiness will grow. I know it.


	6. Chapter 6: Spread your wings

Chapter 6: Spread your wings

Xemnas' PoV

Pitiful children, that is all they are: children, foolish enough to believe that despite all evidence to the contrary, they can actually make a difference. They act as if they have the power to stop me; if only they knew how wrong they are. I have endured more than they could possibly imagine. Where other, less determined people would have turned back and given up for lost, I have journeyed on with out fear, even in the face of annihilation. Nothing will stand in the way of my goals—nothing. They cannot stop me; I will not allow it, for who if not me deserves the power that lies behind the door?

My so called mentor most certainly did not deserve it. Ansem the Wise, Ansem the Sage…Ansem the Fool was the only name he truly deserved. From the very beginning, he could sense my potential for greatness; I found his notes, and he expressed concern for my "too extraordinary talents". I should have known; he was jealous of my intellect and prowess, and instead of nurturing my budding growth he chose instead to hold me back. When I took his experiments of the heart and began to build upon them myself, he ordered me to cease all work, afraid that the inevitable would come and I would outshine him as the new savior of our world.

Needless to say, I did not heed his commands. Instead, with the support of my fellow apprentices, I constructed a secret lab around our world's Keyhole and continued to examine the power of a heart's darkness. However, we came to find that we could only learn so much whilst looking from the outside in, so to obtain the power of darkness we gave ourselves over to it, separating our hearts and bodies and sacrificing our world in the name of darkness.

Naturally, there were those among us who did not adjust well to our new existence as Nobodies; Ienzo in particular spent months without speaking, watching us and learning our behaviors so as to mimic the maturity he would never grasp. I on the other hand stepped into my new role with relish. For years I had been forced to live under the boot heel of others, pretending to emotions I did not possess in order to pass among them undetected. But now…now I could truly come into my own; I could take control of the power I needed, and pursue my main goal: Kingdom Hearts.

Now, I will admit, my plans have not gone without some minor setbacks. This is understandable; a scientist must fail before he can reach the long anticipated breakthrough. And now that I have merged with my once lost heart, and the memories it has gained in its absence, I can see it all from a perspective no man has had before…and now I know. The Heartless, the Nobodies, the Unversed…they are all connected, and if I bend them to my will, nothing will me out of my reach. I will rise, spreading my wings like a phoenix from the ashes, and Kingdom Hearts will be ultimately, completely mine.


	7. Chapter 7: Paint

Chapter 7: Paint

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Namine's PoV

I used to love drawing. The feel of a sturdy pencil in my hand, the way even the slightest touch of it could change the entire portrait; I felt more alive than anything when I was hard at work on my next sketch. Granted, I wasn't very good—most people came out as these awkward, angled figures—but I didn't care; these drawings meant something, not just to me but to everyone around me. I was born a witch, and a drawing was my most preferred medium of working my magic; all I had to do was focus my energies and I could create or destroy with a mere stroke of my hand.

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Everyday, I would wake up, and the first thing I would do was get out my pencils and my sketch book and draw whatever I had dreamed of the night before. Usually it wasn't much, just a few scribbles of some half-formed thoughts, but some nights…some nights I'd dream of Sora, and his adventures. Other times, I might dream of Roxas, or Axel, or Kairi or Riku. Just about anyone Sora had touched would make their way into my drawings one way or another, whether it was a day or a year after he had met them. My powers were rooted deeply in Sora's memories; so much that I could feel them and shift them better than anyone else's. By letting myself draw, I could bring those memories to life for me, and if I wished I could make them more vibrant than any other in his mind—or warp or submerge them, sending them farther out of his reach than before.

I know it isn't a nice thing to say, but there was a time where I did this recklessly and with abandon, tearing Sora's memories apart so I could shape his heart into something more malleable. The Organization—those like me, with powers greater than one would think possible—persuaded me to do this to him, so they could shape his impressionable heart into a weapon. If they could just have him on their side, no questions asked, then they would have the tools they needed to be complete beings, and they claimed that I would be complete too. So, under their instruction, I slowing worked to do the unthinkable: to brainwash an innocent boy into service, and lock away any of his objections to our demands forever.

When I first started, I knew I had my work cut out for me. What we were attempting here had never been done before, and one slip up could have had devastating consequences. It took a week before he had even arrived to sift through the sheer mass of memories he had collected in his fourteen or so years. Every memory, even the ones deep in his subconscious from his early years, had the potential to change how he saw everything; I just had to find the right one…

Still, it took me forever and a day before I stopped scrutinizing and took a look at the big picture. I had been trying so hard to be thorough in my searching; I missed what was standing right in front of me: the girl, Kairi.

Kairi…she was one of Sora's closest friends from the moment they met, and from insight his memories gave me, he felt so much more for her. She was his light in the darkness, the bright spot in his life, and therefore his biggest weakness. All I had to do was get her out of the picture, and his moral compass would be thrown completely off. In other words, he'd be putty in the Organization's hands.

Of course, I wasn't stupid; the minute I caught a glimpse of her, I knew exactly who she was to me. The resemblance so obvious from the start, and if she had as large a role in Sora's life as I thought, it could mean only one thing; we were one and the same. When her heart was cast adrift in that one moment in Sora's personal timeline, I knew I must have come from there—and I felt something. Deep inside me, I somehow knew; she was me, the original me. I had finally found my somebody.

At first, the discovery came as a shock. The fact that we were the same, and yet existed separately, was and is something I just couldn't wrap my mind around. Soon though, once I'd processed the notion, my surprise turned to a new feeling: anger. I had been forced through what little of a life I had to live in nothing but cold and numbness and loneliness. Why did she get to have a life? What did I do that was so horrible that I had to be denied a real life? I deserved a shot!

So, once Sora arrived, I set to work taking him apart. There were so many ways I could have gone about it, so many ways I could have torn that girl out of his life. But I wanted someone to care about me so much, to just give a damn about my existence. So I took her place; everywhere Kairi showed up in his life, I made it so he saw my face instead. At the time, I thought what I was doing was right; she'd had her shot at the guy, now it was my turn to live.

But…the spell worked too well. By the time I actually met Sora, he was so adamant about protecting me, he was a complete loose cannon. He was willing to toss aside his friends, his world, and even his life—for me. That look of anger twisted into his face, the sadistic powers being sent against him, against me…it…it was just too much for me to take. How could I leave him in this web of lies I had woven? The Organization would have bled him dry, and I…I couldn't live with the guilt of that. So I did all that I could: escaped my captors, set Sora free, and, as soon we were safe, I set to work undoing what I had done.

That was probably the hardest thing I had ever done. Sora was the only person who had ever shown me kindness; he was the closest I had ever come to the light, and before I could even learn to…enjoy that light's warmth—it was gone. Once I was done, he lost all memory of me, and the bond we had, real or not. I know I forced it, I know we were never meant to be close—but even so, why? After all that work, after trying so hard to come into my own, was my life meant to add up to just…nothing?

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I stopped drawing for a while after that. It just hurt too much: every time my hand hit the pad, I burst into tears, scared to do anything for fear of hurting Sora again. Not that it would have mattered anyway; Sora had a Nobody too, one who held the memories I needed to work locked away. Roxas…he was like me, a Nobody with nobody, not even himself, which he could remember. He was a blank slate, and with that I felt…a connection. He and I were linked for it, and while Sora stayed in his slumber I made contact with him; it wasn't much, but it was something at least. At least it filled the void.

I shouldn't have done that, not with what I knew I would have to do to him eventually. But…he was so sweet, and so different from Sora, in ways that I never even knew possible. Where Sora saw absolutes and simplicity, Roxas saw entire worlds of shifting complexities. While Sora made me feel safe and good despite my origins, Roxas did so much more, perceiving me for the person I was and appreciating the good and the bad in it. In a way, he…opened my eyes, to a world I never thought possible: one where I wouldn't fade into nothingness, where he and I could escape what was expected and find what was best for us. And in the short time I knew him…I was free.

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Of course, I'm sure you know what happened next: we didn't fade away, but chose instead to merge with our others: Roxas with Sora, and me with Kairi. I didn't want to at first, but Roxas' self-sacrifice for Sora convinced it wouldn't be all bad, and he was right. Once I was inside Kairi, with her voice and mind melding with mine, I grew to sympathize with her. She had never meant ill will toward me, or anyone, and my envy of her…wasn't warranted.

You see, once I came into Kairi's heart, I gained access to everything her heart had to offer. It's funny…I thought I'd just find light inside someone like her, but now…there's so much about the heart people just don't know about. It's so much more…complex than just the light and dark, and with my powers, I can just pull them out and shape these beautiful sights with them. Kairi and I…we have so much to give, and I can help her achieve that, in here, where my powers will no longer hurt, but help—help Kairi see the beauty in her heart, so she can create beauty out there, where everyone can see it. I have a purpose now…and it feels so, so good to have it.

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I used to love drawing. The feel of a sturdy pencil in my hand, the way even the slightest touch of it could change the entire portrait; I felt more alive than anything when I was hard at work on my next sketch. But now, I don't need to sketch; I have something even better. So when Roxas comes to visit me, every time Sora and Kairi meet, I show him my creations. Everything I've made, deep inside Kairi's heart…paintings, I call them, the paintings of her heart and mine. And he loves them, he really does. You should come see them too, sometime. They're really pretty, and I'm pretty sure you'd love them too.

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I know, I know, I steal concepts from myself. But c'mon, it works for Namine.

Review Please!


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